The Welshman felt the Gunners responded to some of their recent critics with a diligent display and an important result in a crunch Europa League tie

Aaron Ramsey says Arsenal’s 2-0 win over AC Milan at the San Siro proved they have “plenty of characters” in the team.

The Gunners ended their four-game losing streak in all competitions with an impressive victory in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie with the Serie A side.

First-half goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan, his maiden effort for the club, and Ramsey were enough to put the visitors in a commanding position ahead of the return game at the Emirates Stadium and reduce some of the pressure on manager Arsene Wenger.

Arsenal’s poor recent form has prompted criticism of the mentality within the squad, and Ramsey believes Thursday’s win was an ideal response.

“We started well, we got a couple of goals in the first half. We showed we have plenty of characters in this team,” he told BT Sport.

“It’s never easy to come to San Siro and play AC Milan; I know from past experience. I’m really pleased that we came here and we got the win.

“I think we played very well in the first half, we created many opportunities and moved the ball well. Second half, we wanted to protect it a bit more, and we kept a clean sheet, which is always important.

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“We’ve been on a bad run and sometimes, as hard as you try out on the pitch, it doesn’t seem to work. But we’re trying hard and we tried to do the right things. We know what we’re capable of.

“A lot of people are always going to talk – it’s their job to talk. It’s important for us to keep focused and try and improve. We know what we’re capable of doing and we just have to produce that more consistently.